Warmth
by Wendy McCalister
Summary: "What the hell are you doing?" he yelled in surprise, and immediately, tried to push her hands off. "You don't owe me anything. You don't have to do this," he went on, his gold eyes gazing at her face, searching through her soul in an attempt to read what prompted her to do this for a lowly demon like him. For some reason, she smiled. And for once, he wasn't sure what to say.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Summary: "What the hell are you doing?" he yelled in surprise, and immediately, tried to push her hands off. "You don't owe me anything. You don't have to do this," he went on, his gold eyes gazing at her face, searching through her soul in an attempt to read what prompted her to do this for a lowly demon like him. For some reason, she smiled. And for once, he wasn't sure what to say. YoukoxBotan.**

 **Warmth**

Smoldering gold orbs glared at the blue haired haired ferry girl staring at her feet. Botan had been on the verge of running up to him in worry, only to find herself unable to move a muscle under his unwavering heated stare.

It had been another mission in Makai, and she had been assisting the guys once again, as she had done a lot of times before. Although, this was the first time she'd gotten separated from the others, leaving her alone with Kurama. That, itself, wasn't a bad thing... until a trio of A class demons attacked them. He'd been badly injured, and wouldn't have even came out as victor, or worse, alive, if Youko hadn't taken control, won, and fed the demons to his flesh starving plants.

Admittedly, she was glad to see the silver haired kitsune, but with him glowering at her like he wanted to rip her throat out, she couldn't help the growing urge to flee that seemed to overwhelm her senses. And she would've, if it hadn't been for the reminder that underneath that cold hearted, ruthless and menacing fox demon, still laid the Kurama she knew and undoubtedly, cared for. Sometimes, however, she wondered briefly if her affections for him went beyond the boundaries of their friendship, but she'd quickly brushed the thoughts away.

"What do you want?" Youko's cold voice reached her ears, cutting through the uncomfortable silence like knife through butter.

Botan almost jumped, but quickly regained her composure. What would Kurama think of her if she feared him? She didn't want to hurt him, even if it was his other half that she was slightly frightened of. She bit her lip, hesitating for a few moments, before finally lifting her head to meet his gaze. His face was stoic, almost emotionless, as he stared at her.

"I..." She took a deep breath. "I... I was... I wanted to help-"

"What can _you_ do to help?" Youko sneered at her, his golden eyes flashing at her in a way that would've made her cower in fear if it wasn't for the pride left inside her that told her not to. She frowned, her lovely features contorted into what seemed like an offended look.

"I can heal you," she tried, letting her eyes shift lower to bloody gash around his stomach, right shoulder, and left arm. She went to take a step forward, only to abruptly halt in her tracks, as he gave her a look that literally meant he wanted her as far away as possible.

What was this stupid girl thinking? He couldn't help but wonder grudgingly in his mind. He wasn't fragile, goddamnit! A few cuts here and there wouldn't bother him. He could heal himself, anyway; he knew a few tricks that would do, so he needn't her assistance. What did his human half see in her? He snorted at himself, as he let his eyes scrutinize her up and down. Of course, the bloody woman was an attractive creature, he would give her that. With those jewel like purple eyes, solf, silky sky blue hair, porcelain white skin, and perfect body, curves all at the right places, she could charm any man, even him. But, those were just looks. That kind of thing would probably attract him sexually, depending on how much beauty a woman had, and this girl, Botan, certainly had all of it. Although, that didn't explain why Shuichi Minamino actually had deeper feelings for her - care, affection, and dare he say it, **love**. What was so special about her that she seemed to haunt the redhead's dreams every night? Nothing. Youko couldn't see it. He couldn't tell.

"I'm not in any need of your assistance, I can take care of myself," he snapped at her, whipping to walk away. Shuichi's voice screamed in his head not to leave her, but his pleas felled on deaf ears, as the silver haired kitsune had no intentions of stopping.

"Wait!" Botan's high pitched cry sounded from behind him, and he turned as he felt a tug at his arm. Surprised, he roughly jerked it out of her grasp, ignoring the girl's pained whimper as she felled on the ground on her butt.

Youko wanted to leave. He wanted to go. He wanted to stay away from this woman. But, for some reason, he couldn't. He just stood there, staring at her like an idiot, as she mumbled something incoherent under her breath, slowly got to her feet, and dusted the dirt off her pink kimono. It was like an unknown force was holding him back, tugging him by the feet to prevent him from running off.

"I... I know you don't like me," she started in a soft voice, her face slightly crestfallen as she said this, "B-but, please... let me help you..." Her hand reached out to touch his arm again, feeling him flinch under her touch, but he didn't move or push her away. He just stared.

"Why are you so...?" he trailed off as the ferry girl told him to sit down so it would be easier for her to heal him. Reluctantly, he did, flopping down on the ground, but he kept his eyes still on her form, studying her as she emitted a soft, blue light with her hands.

When he felt those lithe, pale hands came in contact with his chest, that was when Youko finally snapped out of whatever trance that held him captive.

"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled in surprise, and immediately, tried to push her hands off. The stupid girl was stubborn, and kept them on him even as he tried to tug them harshly away. It was weird. He could've easily pushed her away if he wanted to, and yet, he found he didn't. He didn't want to. Why?

"Stop," he ordered, a wince escaping him as he felt the bloody gash on his chest slowly, but gradually, drew close. "Stop, Botan," For the first time ever, Youko called her by her name, and the blue haired ferry girl looked up at him, a smile appearing on her face.

"You said my name..." she mumbled, a soft giggle building in her chest, and escaping her pink lips. He couldn't help but find himself staring at the glossy texture of her mouth, an image of him devouring those soft lips invading his thoughts only for a moment, before he pushed them into the deepest part of his mind, where they hopefully would never appear again. Ever.

A crease formed at his forehead. He was ordering her to stop, and after giving him nothing but silence in response and refusing to do as she was told, this woman had the nerve to just suddenly say that. He would've growled. He would've gritted his teeth at her. Yet, he found himself blinking, and for once, dumbfounded.

"I'm serious here, ferry girl," he said, as soon as the astonishment died down, and his handsome features took on a stern expression. "You don't owe me anything. You don't have to do this," he went on, his gold eyes gazing at her face, searching through her soul in an attempt to read what prompted her to do this for a lowly demon like him. Hadn't he done enough cruel deeds that would've left her disgusted, and thinking of him as a monster? Hadn't he been the one who had escaped her when she had failed to collect his soul when he was _supposedly_ supposed to die? So, why was she doing this for him? Was it because of Shuichi? Did she care that much about his human half? A pang of jealousy inexplicably stabbed at his chest, to which he couldn't help but frown once again. And now she was igniting these... these _feelings_ inside him! What did she want?

For some reason, she smiled. And for once, he didn't know what to say.

"Fine," he growled, although his eyes softened a little, "Do as you wish." He finally relented, finally letting go of her hands to grant her permission to heal him. She was too headstrong for his taste, anyway, and he couldn't help but think he was wasting his time and breath trying to convince her that he would do just fine without her help, so he might as well just let her have her way. At least, until she was satisfied... Just this once. Just this once was alright. He watched the ferry girl's expression contorted into pure joy, the happiness radiating off of her almost making him look away.

Moments later, she moved from his chest to his rapidly bleeding shoulder, and he took that moment to finally peer at the long cut on his chest, blinking in surprise as he realized there was nothing left but a bad, purple bruise. She had done a good job. And before he could stop himself, he found himself saying,

"Thank you," he muttered, his voice, usually cold and menacing, for once, was tinted in warmth.

She giggled. "Your welcome," her gentle tone reached his ears, snapping him back into reality as he jerked his head to look at her. She was studying him, staring at him with those bright, laughing eyes that seemed to pierce through his soul, and smiling that pretty smile that Shuichi had always loved but he always loathed to see. And yet, now, currently, he couldn't help but think it was endearing and couldn't take his eyes off of her. It wasn't until she turned scarlet in the face, that he realized he had been staring.

He quickly averted his gaze, an unnatural pink flush surprisingly creeping up his cheeks as he heard a slightly amused chuckle erupted from her throat.

"You're an idiot, aren't you?" His voice was soft, despite his words were undeniably harsh and rude. He didn't look at her, but he could almost see her smile.

"Perhaps," she whispered, "Perhaps, I am."

That was when he finally fixed his gaze on her, bright golden orbs gaping at her, but she was too preoccupied with his blood smeared shoulder to notice. He scoffed. What **did** Shuichi see in her? She was stupid, selfless, and too reckless for her own good. And she seemed to radiate this warmth that he had never felt before, aside from Shuichi's human mother, Shiori, whom he had grown to respect and dare he say it, love, over the years. Now, this moronic ferry girl was doing the same thing. Igniting that stupid thing called feelings inside him again. She was weird. He was weird. This was all weird. But, he couldn't pull away. Didn't try to. Didn't want to.

She was right, she **was** an idiot.

And he was too.

Foolishness was awfully contagious... so it seemed.


End file.
